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Kan du svare på spørsmålet?

Kan du svare på spørsmålet?
Can you answer the question?
FromLesson 22inHardcore Norwegian
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Breakdown of Kan du svare på spørsmålet?

du
you
kunne
can
på
to
svare
to answer
spørsmålet
the question
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Questions & Answers about Kan du svare på spørsmålet?

Why is the subject du placed after the verb kan in this question?
In Norwegian yes/no questions the finite verb comes first (V2‐inversion). That means you swap the usual statement order (Du kan svare…) to Kan du svare….
Why isn’t there an å before svare?
After a modal verb like kan, the main verb appears in the bare infinitive without å. So you say kan du svare, not kan du å svare.
Why do we need the preposition på before spørsmålet?
The verb svare (to answer) normally takes på when you answer “something.” In other words, you svare på a question. Without på it sounds ungrammatical unless you switch to the verb besvare.
What does the -et ending in spørsmålet indicate?
Spørsmål is a neuter noun. Adding -et turns it into the definite singular form: spørsmålet = the question.
Could I replace svare på spørsmålet with besvare spørsmålet?

Yes. Besvare also means “to answer,” but it takes a direct object without a preposition:
– Kan du svare på spørsmålet? (informal)
– Kan du besvare spørsmålet? (slightly more formal)

How do I pronounce spørsmålet?
A rough IPA transcription is /ˈspœʂˌmɔːlɛ/. You can think of it as “SPURSH-mo-leh,” where ø sounds like the French eu in peu and å like the “aw” in law.